University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: UT 45, UTC 10
October 11, 2014 | Football
Oct. 11, 2014
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HEAD COACH Butch Jones
(Opening Statement)
I thought we did what we needed to do to win the football game tonight. We got back to playing Tennessee football in terms of one penalty. We had some individuals step up and impact the game: Aaron Medley's seven touchbacks; anytime you can do that helps in the field positions game. Justin (Worley) was responsible for five touchdowns. Johnathon Johnson continues to step up and (his) consistency and performance by that young man in practice and in game, (and) you always know what you're going to get with him. Derrell Scott and Justus Pickett gave us some valuable reps today. We had two big returns tonight by Cam Sutton and Evan Berry, which are momentum plays so that's always great to see. We had some young players get some reps, so we were able to get them in the game and they were able to put their personal identity and personal brand on video. It will give us great evaluation moving forward with this football team as we continue to develop depth across the board. I also thought Jason Croom stepped up tonight and had some big catches at critical times in the game.
(On why he thought Justin ran more this week)
Because he's heard Jimmy Hyams all week talking about it. It was there and he took it. I thought Justin was more aggressive in his mindset, in his thinking, in the way he played the game. He played confident, which is what we're going to continue to need as we move forward.
(On what was there that he hadn't seen before)
Just the end collapsing on the zone. We don't need a home run from the quarterback position; we just need four yards. That's part of managing the game and again he was more aggressive in his thought process.
(On if Jones asked Worley to be more aggressive)
I coached him the exact same way. We talk about being assertive in every single way. We always stress it, but it wasn't any more than normal.
(On whether he was being careful with Jalen Hurd's shoulder by limiting his playing time)
(We were) being protective, (but) our training room will be working overtime tonight. That's the thing about this football team: anytime we win, it's very, very special. Half the teams in the country lose, half the teams win, so when we win, it's a great win, but these kids are so dedicated that they are going over right now to the Anderson Training Center for treatments and that's a big part of it. We're going into a tough stretch here.
(On any injury statuses)
The only thing I've heard now is that Devrin Young has a couple of broken ribs. I'll have to get clarification on that, but I'll just have to wait and see on the other individuals. I'll go back over to the training center and wait for them and meet with (athletic trainer) Jason (McVeigh) on Sunday like I always do.
(On why Jonathon Johnson got the start over Pig Howard)
Just like Emmanuel Moseley earned the start over Mike Williams, you have to earn your spot with a week of preparation and not to say that Alton or Mike had a poor week of practice, but it's about the competitive greatness that we've been talking about.
(On Evan Berry's second half kickoff return)
He did a great job and now he's got to find out how to finish. Evan's got a great element of speed with great confidence and our players believe in him. You start the second half with a big splash play, a big momentum play and we did a great job of turning it into seven points and that's always big to set the temperament, to set the tone in the second half.
(On the importance of scoring right before halftime)
Justin did a great job of managing the one-minute drill and everything in football is momentum and confidence. We executed the plays that we needed to. Jonathon Johnson ran a great route, Justin throwing off his left and put the ball where it needed to be.
(On the defensive performance)
I wasn't particularly pleased with the individuals that were getting repetitions at the end of the game. I said to Curt (Maggitt) and A.J. (Johnson) that the standard and expectation doesn't change no matter who's on the field. That's why I huddled them up after that one series. We knew we were going to be challenged with the quarterback runs. Chattanooga is a well-coached football team and they'll continue to win their fair share of games. I have a lot of respect for David Blackburn and their entire administration and football team. The style of play, the standard and the expectations will never change, no matter who's on the field and they need to know that.
(On the sacks given up by the offense)
We'll break them down. A couple of the sacks weren't from the offensive line, but from a back in protection. Your eyes want to point towards the offensive line, but sometimes we hang on to the ball too much and we have to put it away, but we'll continue to break it down and you just have to keep working on it. Sometimes we overset on the pass rush and allow the guy on the inside to penetrate. We have to trust our technique, so some of it was technique, some of it was getting beat one-on-one and some of it was a different player, so all you can do is get back to work.
(On Marquez North's status)
He was sore and we wanted to try to get him ready for next week.
(On Jones' evaluation at the halfway point)
We need much, much more depth. A lot of that will be addressed in recruiting. Some of our young players who don't play as much need to continue to work and progress throughout the season, but depth becomes a big issue. You look at the running back position. That's a depth of concern. We all know depth in the offensive line, depth in the tight end, depth across the board. We just have to focus on the task ahead of it and grind every single day. That's all you can do. We're really getting phenomenal leadership right now and our players haven't blinked. We're 3-3 midway and have been in some very close games. It's going to be a mental grind coming up in just staying focused on the process and not letting any outside distractions or clutter kick in and just focus on winning every single moment, every single day. The goal of this team has not changed since August: our goal is to be the best possible football team we can possibly be, no more, no less and we'll continue to work to that.
(On thoughts on team now compared to August)
"Well, I've always felt good about our team. I like our character. I like our competitive character. They let our coaches push them, and they're becoming an inner drive. They are starting to speak the same language. The leaders are really asserting themselves. I've always liked [them]. It's just a challenge when you don't have a lot of depth and when you don't have a lot of live game experience. I find out a little bit more about this football team every single week just because they are gaining valuable game repetitions. Like I told the football team last night, I still don't know how to read them. On every football team I've had the privilege of being the head coach for, I could tell exactly when they're locked in--all that. I ask the coaches, `What are your thoughts?', and they said you just have--you have older players, you have players that have never played before. You have such a different mix, and you're so youthful. They're learning as we continue to go. But, the more and more the season plays out, the more and more I find out more about this football team. I told them this game was going to be a test of their competitive character. Come out and put your best performance forward and play complimentary football. We'll go back, and we'll revisit the video. Again, I liked our business-like approach all week."
(On whether or not tonight's game was a good sample size for non-starters)
"Any type of sample size is big for us. Now, we have some live-game repetitions. We made some mental errors, and, like I told Jakob Johnson, `You earned valuable experience today, and you're one snap away.' Now, it's what you do with those game repetitions. How do you improve? You can't make the same mistake twice. They're very prideful. They take great pride in their performance. But, again, it's these individuals knowing to stay tuned in. Look at Emmanuel Moseley. Emmanuel Moseley didn't play very much as all until last week. All of the sudden in the middle of the game against Florida, he's pressed into a critical situation, and he performed well. So, this week he earned the start by his performance in practice and doing the right things. Again, you look at all that. That's a great illustration. Now, what do these individuals--what does Dewayne Hendrix do with those repetitions? What does Jakob Johnson do with those repetitions? What does Justin King do with those repetitions? Dimarya Mixon, I could go on and on and on. Now, what do you do with those repetitions because, as you know, we're only halfway through, and we're a mass unit right now. We have to continue to develop depth in our football program."
(On how close Jacob Gilliam is to his return)
"Close. He keeps getting closer. We just don't ever want to put an individual in a game right now. I know he's probably hurt because I know he'd like to play. That is his competitive nature, and I love him for it. Again, we're always going to err on player welfare and development. We just didn't think, coming back from [the injury], that he was game ready yet."
(On what to take away from the running back performances)
"Work in progress. We still don't have very many explosive runs. We need more explosive runs. Again, it's hard to play perfect. Just (improve) the overall level of consistency when we run the football and our run efficiency."
(On whether or not Marlin Lane could have played)
"No. He tried to go. He's practiced all week, but he was pained up. I've never been in a game like that where you're down three running backs like that. That's why you need running backs. Football is a game of depth, and that was never illustrated more so than tonight."
(On Johnathon Johnson's consistency)
"Johnathon has displayed that consistency week-in and week-out starting last year. Doesn't say two words, hangs on every word the coaches tell him, gives great effort and is just consistent. You just have to tell him one time, and he's able to do that. It's great also--we were talking about putting your identity and personal brand on video. It's great to get Vic Wharton some reps. He had a number of catches. Again, things that we can teach off of and things that these players can go back. It's one thing to learn off of other people, but now, they're able to go back and learn off themselves. That's an invaluable teaching tool."
(On allowing the offensive line to play more reps than other positions before putting in second unit)
"Those five need every repetition of working together. The communicative aspect, the pad level, the use of the hands, fundamentals--they need every rep they can get. It was great to get those other individuals in the game as well and evaluate them."
(On how a win helps the team moving forward)
"Anytime you win is great. I had a coach tell me once, `When you win, the drinks are a little bit colder and the food is a little bit warmer.' If you'd see those kids in the locker room--they put so much effort and sweat equity into this season, and they continue to be all in. I coach for the kids. Seeing the look on their faces and singing `Rocky Top,' that's special. Like Curt Maggitt said, we can't forget how this feeling feels. Anytime you win, it's special. But, as hard as these kids have worked, to see the fruits of their labor so to speak come to fruition tonight is big. We're going to be challenged as we continue to go, as you know. Every week from here on out is a grind."
(On the importance of Evan Berry's 68-yard return)
"It was big. Evan has been doing it in practice. He's in my hip pocket every week. He wants the ball in his hands. Again, he's done that in practice, but now to do it in a game, [the return] gives that unit great confidence."
(On how long Devrin Young will be out)
"I do not. Again, I'll get more clarification on the ribs, but that's the preliminary right now."
QUARTERBACK Justin Worley
(On being on the sidelines late in the game)
"We've been beat up in the quarterback room a little bit, so being able to stand on the sidelines and watch and coach a little bit was good. It was good to get me a little bit of a break and give these offensive linemen a break as well. I was happy for Nate [Nathan Peterman]. Nate got his first career touchdown. We take pride in our room, and I was excited to see that."
(On reaction from teammates on two rushing TDs)
"I got a lot of crap from them, I'll tell you that. (laughs) They were happy. I was telling some guys back there, any way I can help the team, I'd like to, whether it's rushing or throwing. Being able to get those two on the ground was big for me to kind of say, `Look, follow me. I've got you.'"
(On aggressive mindset)
"It all goes into our weekly preparation, whether we see we might have a run pull key. We saw throughout the week that their defensive ends were very aggressive, so we knew we might have some opportunities [to run]."
(On Johnathon Johnson's performance)
"JJ played awesome being able to come up with those two big touchdown catches, one at the end of the first half was huge and then to start off the second half on just about back-to-back plays. He's playing great football. I think the coaches are really impressed with how he's improved from last year to this year. He does everything right. You don't see him messing up too often or dropping too many balls. He's really progressed."
(On business-like approach to today's game)
"Day One after the loss last week, [Coach Jones] came in. He was visibly upset after the loss but it was all, we're moving on to this week. We can't worry about that. We've got to go out there. It's a new week. A new game. Another step in the road to get to a bowl game, which is our goal. I credit him for getting us ready for this game."
LINEBACKER A.J. Johnson
(On not giving up a long touchdown drive in the last two games)
"It feels good. If we aren't giving up long plays, you know that everyone is doing their job."
(On people saying season was ruined)
"Florida was a hurtful loss, and it hurt bad. Every week is a new week, though. A theme of ours is one. Last week is over. This week we came out prepared and ready to go. Everyone did their job, and we came out with a victory."
WIDE RECEIVER Johnathon Johnson
​(On what to take away from this game moving forward to SEC play)
"It gives us momentum and confidence. It let's them (SEC teams) know that we are a pretty good team when we do things right. Going into the next game it gives us confidence and we are excited for the next game."
(On what was different this week in practice)
"I treat every week the same. I go out there like I'm going to start on Saturday. So I just go out there and practice hard each and every day."
DEFENSIVE BACK Justin Coleman
(On his interception)
"Really I was just doing my job and I felt like I was in perfect position, and when he threw the ball, I was like this should be an interception, I got an interception. Running down the sidelines the only thing that was going through my head was stay on the sideline because that was something we were coached to do. I guess I was being a little robotic, but if I would have made the cut back it probably would have been a touchdown."
(On how the team executed well and controlled the game today)
"The coaches say all the time you practice like you play. I have been having pretty good practices. The defense and offense have been having good practices. We just go out there just to execute it. Coming out with the win gives you a happy feeling. It makes you feel good about winning."
(On how well the defense played in the first half)
"I kind of knew we would come out there and make a bunch of stops. That was our expectations, just to get three and out every time we touched the field. They're going to make their plays, which they did. We came out and executed the majority of them."​
CENTER Mack Crowder
(On offensive line reps)
"We need to continue to get reps. There are so many things that can happen on the offensive line. Every day for us is a learning experience. The more reps we can get the better off we will be."
(On the mood of the team)
"We are keeping our heads up. We know we have a lot of work to do, but we are going to continue to come in and work hard every day."
(On the upcoming schedule)
"It is a challenge just like every other week. We see tough opponents every week in our conference. We are going to prepare the same as we do any other week. We will go in confident."
DEFENSIVE BACK Cameron Sutton
(On the feeling of breaking free on a punt return)
"It felt good. The guys up front did a really good job staying on their blocks. It's something we did throughout the week just going back to the scheme of our punt return, finishing blocks and things like that."
​
(On the feeling of taking care of business right from opening snap)
"It felt pretty good. We prepared well throughout the week. It shows on the field. It is our job to go out there and execute. Even though it is not an SEC play like it's a national championship every time we step out there on Saturdays. We just have to continue to play complementary football playing for our offense, defensive and special teams to come out with more wins."
(On tonight's win meaning for the team)
"It is a confidence builder for us even though we are going on the road next week. We just have to prepare like we do every week. Get in the film room and take care of our bodies even more. When we go on the road we have to go with a road focus mindset. Come out ready to play and take out all the crowd and everything else early in the game. All those things are things we can't control and hopefully come out with a win."
DEFENSIVE END Derek Barnett
(On defense's performance)
"It felt good. Like A.J. said, on defense we were just flying around the ball, having fun. When we do that, we play good football. Even when we mess up, we run hard to the ball, fly around."
(On feeling more at home on the field)
"I just try to stay consistent every week. My teammate hold me to a high level of accountability, so I try to reach those standards."
(On progression of fellow young teammates getting playing time)
"They're held to a high standard as well. We didn't want to give up any points, no touchdowns at least, but they scored. We'll go back and watch film all together as a defensive unit and fix our mistakes."
DEFENSIVE BACK Evan Berry
(On the energy in the locker room post game)
"It was a great feeling singing the fight song afterwards and seeing smiles on everyone's faces. It's really unimaginable."
(On being patient waiting for that moment to show talent on special teams)
"It's not really hard to be patient. The coaches and everyone on the field tell me 'you are a play away'. If anything happens you just gotta be ready. Time came and I was ready."
MOCS HEAD COACH RUSS HUESMAN
(Opening Statement)
"I told our guys, `played hard.' I think we did. I thought Tennessee played hard. They're a very athletic, physical football team. And we knew we were playing a good team. We felt confident coming in, but we made some mistakes. You know, you jump offsides on third and an inch. The punt return early in the game was a killer. Now that was a block in the back, and I don't think the SEC can fine me for that, but it was a block in the back, I thought two blocks in the back on that one. But that's a tough way to start when we've got them defended there. You know the kickoff return, we had him and just didn't wrap up. You know, Jacob throws the interception and he returns it all the way to the redzone. You know, they get 340 yards, but that doesn't look like 45 points, so I give our defense a lot of credit. I thought we got better offensively as the game went on. We executed a little bit better. It looked like we were getting on people a little bit better. You know they probably had their two's in at that point in time, but SEC two's are better than every Southern Conference one, so we were playing against quality people at that point in time. So, I'm proud of our guys. When they walk out that door, they're going to forget about this one. We've got to get ready for the biggest game of the year in Citadel."
(On recording five sacks)
"You know, I thought we could. We rush the passer very well. We've rushed the passer well since I've been here. I thought our guys did a great job. We can run. You know, Keionta Davis, and Davis Tull, and Lott and those guys, they can run. They're hard to block. They're hard to handle in there, especially when it's definite passing situations. We kinda screwed them up right before the half there. We had them in a third and long, and we called a blitz and didn't get it communicated, it was on the coaches, we didn't get it communicated to our offensive line, and he gets out and throws to the guy that's wide open on the sideline for a big, I think that was probably a 15, 18 yard gain and kept a drive alive there. So you can't put that on our players, but it was nice...we can rush the passer."
(On trying to take advantage of Tennessee's young offensive line)
"Well, not really. We knew they were young. I think they're talented, you know, but when you're young, at that position it's not only knowing what to do. I think they're coaching them up to know what to do, who to pick up, when to pick them up. It's just physically, you know, you're just not ready to play in the SEC. But as the year goes on now, their six games into it, by 7, 8, 9, they're not freshman anymore, so they're probably getting better as the year goes on. I think they're doing a good job with them. I was impressed with UT today, no question."
(On Tennessee's quickness)
"They can run. I saw number 45 come out like a shot and tackle somebody about the second or third play of the game. Man, he looked like he was running a 4.1 forty out there. He was...they can run, they were physical and we were probably beat up, and hopefully it's just all minor stuff. But they can run on defense. They were really good."
(On adjusting to Tennessee defense as the game went on)
"Well, I don't think we were running the...we didn't score the last touchdown or run the ball against A.J. Johnson and that group. But, I'm proud of our guys because you know, I'm sure they had good players in there. So I'm proud of them, no question, but they were hard to move, they were hard to get first downs on with their first group in there, there's no question about that."
(On what Butch Jones said to him after the game)
"I think he said we had a good team. He's a nice guy, I like him. We had a nice conversation before the game. I mean, he was very complimentary of our team, and said just go win the Southern Conference championship. But you know, Tennessee plays hard. You don't see any of the trash talking, you don't see any of the late hits, you don't see any of the garbage plays. They play football and play it well. You know, I think they're doing a great job up here and they're going to win some games this year."
(On Jacob Huesman being banged up.)
"He was hurting most of the game, but you'd never know it. You ask it when he hurt it he said the first quarter. I said how'd you do it. He didn't know. He's a tough kid, he'll be alright."
(On how Huesman was hurt)
"I think he hurt is toe a little bit maybe, his calf, his shoulder. He probably has bruises on his back and elbows. He's probably gonna be sore tomorrow, but he bounces back pretty good and pretty quick, tough kid."
(On Huesman running more than expected)
"I don't even know how many times he ran, twelve? That's probably about right. How many sacks did they have? Just one? He ran probably 11 times and I say probably out of those 11 they were all reads and he had to keep it based on what he saw."
(On job Derrick Craine did)
"I though he did a great job. He's a tough dude. Love the way he runs. Glad to see Richardre (Bagley) get a touchdown there. Him and Jacob (Huesman) had the exchange issue, and those things can't happen, gave the, the ball in our territory and that's unacceptable. But I was glad to see him pop that last one there. He's a good player, great kid, Craine same way. There's not anybody on this team better than those 2 kids."
(On what you told the team after the game)
"I told them that when they walk out this door, and it's not even a 24-hour rule, it's a 20 minute rule as soon as they get a shower and get out, soon as they walk out that door to forget about this game. Enjoy the bus ride home, enjoy the experience, but this one is behind us. We gotta play Citadel, it'll be a test and a war and If were not ready will have some issues there for sure. We gotta prepare and be ready for the Citadel. That's what I wanted to tell them. They played hard. You're not gonna beat and SEC team making mistakes, you're just not. It's hard enough has it is, It's hard enough to get first-downs. It's hard enough to block those guys. It's hard enough to cover those wide-outs all day. I thought we defended the run game fantastic today. Now when they brought Peterman in there, he popped that last one on us. I thought our guys stood up against the run game really well defensively. I though we rushed the passer really well. They dinked and donked us a little bit in the throw game. For the most part I was pretty proud of our defensive effort."
(On Special Teams play)
"(They) Let me down. Not great. In these games it shows up, if you're not perfect it shows up. The first punt return was a joke. That's a bad call. That's a clip, and there were two of them on it, and we can't survive that. We're a Southern Conference school; they're an SEC school. We cannot surrive that. It's right at the return guy. Those have to be called, no question about it. "
(On Tennessee's secondary play)
"We knew they were good in the secondary. They get up and they cover you and they limited a lot. They limited the short passing game; the deep throws. They're really good in the secondary. They're physical and they can get up there and press and run. We knew we had out work cut out for us. We were just hoping we could formation them a little bit and try and free some people up like that. Really not a whole lot worked for the majority of the game. They're very talented. I think Cam Sutton is as good as there is in this league, in the SEC. They're good. As long as they can cover people, they're gonna be good on defense all year long."
(On having a larger time of possession and if it helps)
"No, probably because they got the ball on our 15, 12, 10, 15, 20(yard-line). It doesn't take long to score or to do something down there. You're either gonna score or kick a field goal. You're not driving it there, and that's the difference in the time of possession. We gave them the ball on punt return, kick-off, interception, fumble, four times down there. We held them to field goal one time, but I think when we had them out on the field I though our defensive played really well. "
(On 3rd downs)
"We were better, 5-14(On 3rd downs) today, which is better. They were 6-13(On 3rd downs)"
MOCS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN DERRICK LOTT
(On the positives from the game)
"I think there's a big positive takeaway. First and foremost, going into the fourth quarter, holding an SEC for us to 52 rushing yards, I felt was big up front for the whole defense. I think it's a good learning experience for us facing an opponent that's, you know, a higher level than us, I think it will prepare us for the rest of our conference and I think we'll do good."
MOCS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN DAVIS TULL
(On recording five sacks)
"Yeah, you know, I think our defensive line fought. I think our defense as a whole fought. We had a couple setbacks on special teams, offensively, gave up some plays on defense. Obviously, the outcome wasn't what we wanted. It's a building point, like you said, we got five sacks. That's something we pride ourselves, getting after the passer, so we feel good about that."
(On playing in Neyland Stadium)
"It was great. Coming into it, there was so much stuff going on and so many people talking to me, so by the time Friday came around, I was just waiting for the game to start. You know, I was kinda getting tired of it. But, it's an experience I'll remember and cherish, for sure."
MOCS DEFENSIVE LINEMAN JOSH FREEMAN
(On the silver lining from tonight's game)
"I feel like defensively we came out and we played pretty well to begin with. We shot ourselves in the foot at times, but I feel like we came out there and we got out in the way that we felt we could, so that's a silver lining. We got five sacks, so that's always a plus, against the SEC especially."
MOCS RUNNING BACK DERRICK CRAINE
(On difference between SEC and Southern Conference players)
"I would say the main difference is size. Speed-wise, you adjust really quick, but size is one of those things, you know, the SEC's always going to have."
